Two Shades of Black
by Charlie Hawthorn
Summary: WILL BE REWRITTEN! What if Sirius Black had a daughter? What if young Melanie Black shared compartment with Harry Potter on their first trip to Hogwarts? How do people treat the daughter of a mass murderer? An ordinary teenage story about the fifth year at Hogwarts.
1. For the first time

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Hello I'm Charlie Hawthorn and this is my first fanfiction in English. Since that is not my native language, bear with me. I try my best and I really **really** appreciate constructive criticism and remarks on grammar mistakes.

**Summary:** What if Sirius Black had a daughter before he was imprisoned in Azkaban? What if young Melanie Black happened to end up in the same compartment as Harry Potter at their first trip with the Hogwarts Express?

How is it really to be best friends with The Boy Who Lived? And how does people treat the daughter of a notorious mass murderer? Melanie knows just what it's like.

This is the story about Melanie's fifth year at Hogwarts with her friends Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Love, friendship, betrayal, misunderstandings, tears, laughter and a little bit of magic. A lunatic Malfoy and a certain Umbridge woman causes trouble ... A completely ordinary teenage story, but it's not about anybody. Two Shades of Black is about Sirius' daughter Melanie Black.

**Update:** August 31st, 2011; Just a quick update to make it more clear that this is the prologue, which occurs four years before the story takes place.

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><p><strong>Two Shades of Black<strong>

**Chapter 1 – For the first time (prologue)**

With a burst of effort, Melanie Black finally managed to pull her enormous trunk onto the dark red train which was about to take her to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For the first time. She rushed back to the open window and hung herself out to get one last look at her mother. The long, blonde hair distinguished Allison Harper in the mass of people and Melanie waved her hand happily. Allison made a halfhearted effort to smile and raised her fragile hand in goodbye, Melanie on the other hand couldn't erase the agog smile from her face.

Melanie and her mother lived alone because her father was imprisoned in Azkaban, though he was innocent. At least that's what Melanie was convinced, since Sirius Black claimed his innocence the one and only time Allison visited him, almost ten years ago. Not a snowball's chance in hell that Melanie would accept her own father being a mass murderer.

"Melanie!" The unexpected call in her ear made her jump and if Fred and George Weasley hadn't grabbed her, she would have fallen out of the window.

"Typical you!" yelled Melanie, but they simply laughed at her, like they always did ever since childhood. Their dad and Melanie's mother both worked at the Ministry of Magic and Mrs Weasley has been babysitting Melanie as long as she could remember.

Melanie realised that Fred and George, who were about to start their third year at Hogwarts, were accompanied by two other boys, who looked like they could be brothers. One of them seemed to be in the twins age and was rather tall, while the other one looked like he could be in her own age. Both were dark blonde.

"You know what?" said Fred enthusiastically. "Ron is in the same compartment as Harry Potter!"

"They're over there", declared George and pointed down the corridor. "Fred, Oliver and myself are going to find Lee now. Bye!" They dropped off and Melanie could make out their red hair in the crowd until they disappeared in a compartment. Melanie turned the other way to find Ron, but she bumped straight into Oliver's brother. He grabbed her to keep her from falling and smiled shyly.

"Woah, thanks. Hi by the way. What's your name?" asked Melanie vividly and started to walk as she looked in every compartment they passed. She didn't see Ron or Harry Potter anywhere.

"Dave. Dave Marcus. And you're Melanie?" He smiled again and Melanie grinned light-hearted back.

"Yeah, Melanie Black." If he knew who Melanie's dad was, he didn't show it. Melanie couldn't see him wince or look for an escape way. She liked this boy. Soon they found Ron and Harry, alone in a compartment.

"Hey Ron, can we sit here?" Melanie saw that Ron gave Harry a questioning look and Harry shrugged in reply.

"Sure." It became quiet while Melanie an Dave trailed in their trunks and became seated, Melanie next to Ron and Dave next to Harry.

"This is Dave Marcus." Ron and Harry looked at him curiously and muttered something that sounded like a hello.

"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Ron, I know your brothers … or, well, my brother Oliver is a friend of Fred and George's".

"Yeah, I know who Oliver is ..." Ron fell silent and gave Harry a quick look.

"Harry Potter." It became quiet once again. Dave gazed at Harry. Melanie looked too but hastily lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She knew how it felt like when people stared at you.

"Whaat?" The three boys turned their head to her, rather confused.

"I mean for looking. Looking at you", said Melanie and continued to observe Harry's shoelaces a while before she felt it was safe to look up again. She exhaled; Harry didn't look at her like she was mental, he seemed … curious.

"My dad, Sirius Black, is wrongly accused for being a mass murderer and is imprisoned in Azkaban so I know what it feels like when people are looking", explained Melanie. While she was talking, a girl in their own age walked in and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again to listen to what Melanie had to say. Her brown hair was bushy and her front teeth were rather big.

"Have you seen a frog? Neville's lost his." Melanie and the boys shook their heads. "Who are you by the way? I'm Hermione Granger." She looked at everyone of them and they introduced themselves once again. At 'Harry Potter' Hermione's eyes widened and for a moment she seemed to lose the thread. Melanie exchanged a meaning look with Harry.

"Are you, really? I know everything about you because you are mentioned in _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and_ Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_." In Melanie's opinion Hermione sounded like a walking dictionary, or possibly a walking library. By the thought of a walking library Melanie grinned widely, but the three boys looked highly bewildered. Hermione kept on blabbing.

" … but I think I prefer Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Oh, it's gonna be so fun, don't you think? And hey, Melanie, there are very clear evidence for your father's guilt ..." She put her hand in front of her mouth and a tense silent spread in the compartment, everyone stared at Melanie. Melanie herself looked at Hermione without blinking, she felt very calm, considering what Hermione just said. Hermione could read as many books as she liked but she would never know what Sirius Black told Allison Harper when she visited him in Azkaban.

"He's innocent. He told my mum", said Melanie simply. It was the first time she revealed this for anybody, but she had a feeling that this was the right people to tell. For the first time.

Melanie was right. Four years later, she still told them everything.

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><p><strong>AN:** So here it is! The prologue. The introduction to how it all started - how the "gang" formed. It's actually somewhat of a translation of my first fanfiction in Swedish. I hope you like it, please review! Don't hesitate to comment any grammar mistakes or such!

/CH


	2. Secrets

****Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p><strong>Summary:<strong> What if Sirius Black had a daughter before he was imprisoned in Azkaban? What if young Melanie Black happened to end up in the same compartment as Harry Potter at their first trip with the Hogwarts Express?

How is it really to be best friends with The Boy Who Lived? And how does people treat the daughter of a notorious mass murderer? Melanie knows just what it's like.

This is the story about Melanie's fith year at Hogwarts with her friends Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Love, friendship, betrayal, misunderstandings, tears, laughter, flying brooms and a little bit of magic. A lunatic Malfoy and a certain Umbridge woman causes trouble ... A completely ordinary teenage story, but it's not about anybody. Two Shades of Black is about Sirius' daughter Melanie Black.

**A/N: **Here's chapter two! Woah, I never thought I'd get any reader's and most certainly not based on just the prologue! So thanks, I really mean it! And it's because of you I finished this chapter so fast, so I hope you like it!

Otherwise, please comment if you find any grammar mistakes and so on. Enjoy your reading!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 – Secrets<strong>

Melanie Black shut her enormous trunk and with a soft snap it locked. She had been packing up and repacking all over again just to make the time go. She was not a person that sat around and waited. Two weeks of the summer vacation had gone by, and today, Melanie and her mother were invited to Melanie's best friend Dave Marcus' house for dinner. Melanie was also supposed to spend the night there.

Melanie straightened up. She was a slender, fourteen year old girl with rather long, dark hair and powder blue eyes. She had inherited her father's appearance, and if Melanie was proud of something, it was to be like her father. Even though she had only known him for just over a year she loved him very much.

Melanie felt alone and missed Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione, although it was not long since they last met. Melanie was so used to be around a lot of people and so used to it always being something going on, so coming home felt empty. Owl mails had frenetically been sent between the friends but not a single one of the letters had been any interesting at all. They had to swear a solemn oath to not write anything important in a letter since the risk of owls being snatched was far too big.

Melanie fingered impatiently on a small, heart-shaped locket, hanging around her neck. The locket was worn, because Melanie had got it when she was born and it meant a lot to her. Inside the heart there were two moving photographies. One of her handsome father, with his long, dark hair flying around his face as he happily laughed at the photographer. The other photo was of her thin and pale mother.

A sudden wave of frustration hit Melanie in the stomach. Allison hadn't asked a single question about what happened by the end of last term, she hadn't asked Melanie anything about Sirius and not one single time had she sat down on Melanie's bed and asked her how she was holding up. Was she brainwashed by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and thought, like everybody else, that Harry and Dumbledore were out of their minds? Did she even know that Melanie had reunited with her father and was regularly in touch with him?

Melanie sighed deeply and her wish since childhood, that Sirius would come and get her and let her stay with him, made itself acknowledged. As Melanie let go of the locket, a thought reached her. She was going to write to Sirius.

_I'm going to Dave's. It's going to be nice to escape mom for a while, but I want to see you too. Can I live with you?_

"It's for dad, make him answer. Later today I'm going to Dave's and I'm going to spend the night there. Just so you know where I am." Melanie tied the letter to Howie's leg and he took-off from her arm and flew out the open window. Melanie stood still and watched him until he was so small that he no longer was visible against the dark blue sky. It was a nice owl, she thought. Sirius had gotten the barn owl for Melanie prior to her third year at Hogwarts, but at the time she didn't know he was from Sirius because Sirius just broke out of Azkaban.

Time went on unnaturally slow and Melanie didn't manage to sit around any more. She jumped off the bed and tiptoed down the stairs with the trunk carefully trailing behind her. As soon as she sat foot on the ground floor she realised that something was not right. She stopped and listened. Voices. It was very hard to localize where the voices came from, since all four doors around her were closed. Melanie took a shot and opened the door immediately to her left; Allison's workroom. It was empty and quiet. Melanie frowned, she thought that Allison had a work meeting with someone from the Ministry and if so they surely would be talking in the workroom. Then who was Allison talking to?

Slightly hesitant, Melanie opened the door at the opposite from the workroom, and went through the small corridor which led to the living room. The next door stood open and Melanie was able to see a well known man's head in the flames, talking to Allison in low-voice. Melanie considered eavesdropping, since they appeared very furtive, but they had already noticed her standing in the doorway.

"Melanie! Nice to see you!" greeted Arthur Weasley cheerfully.

"Hello Mr Weasley", answered Melanie, but he'd already turned back to Allison.

"Well, I hope you understand the situation and what's ahead of us. However, I can't stay longer. Nice talking to you Allison." And with a meaning look, Mr Weasley disappeared. Allison turned to Melanie:

"Are you done packing?"

"I never even packed up", grinned Melanie. Allison nodded and held out the pot with floo powder towards her.

Soon Melanie stepped, slightly dizzy, into the Marcus' living room. She was greeted by Angelica Marcus.

"Melanie sweetheart, how wonderful to see you again!" she uttered aloud and gave Melanie smacking kisses on both cheeks. Her appearance was impressive, with her long figure and the chestnut brown hair tied into a knot on the back of her head. But her eyes were friendly and bright blue.

As soon as Allison stumbled out of the fireside Mrs Marcus swooped down on her too. While Allison got smacking kisses on both cheeks, Dave entered the room. He hadn't got his mother's height, he was about the same length as Melanie and his eyes were brown. Dave pulled his half-long, dark blonde hair out of his eyes and beamed at Melanie. Soon she was embraced in a brotherly hug.

"I hadn't lasted one more day", she mumbled in his ear and he laughed.

"You always last", he replied as his tall brother Oliver joined them.

"Hi Mels", Oliver grinned and shook her hand and gave her a welcoming pat on the back. "Dave missed you _so_ bad", he added in low-voice.

"Shut up!" cried Dave and gave his brother a vicious box.

"Boys", said Mrs Marcus sharply. "Why won't you do something worthwhile instead, like helping Melanie with her trunk?" Oliver gave Dave a triumphing look when the three of them left the living room and took Melanie's trunk up the long, narrow stairs.

When they came back to the ground floor, they discovered that the kitchen was closed. Melanie, who always had experienced the Marcus' house as a very open and welcoming home, found the closed door very odd. Dave and Oliver seemed to be thinking the same, they exchanged skeptical looks and all three of them stopped and listened. When muffled voices reached their ears, Melanie felt an unpleasant jolt in her stomach because she remembered Allison's similar conversation with Mr Weasley. Something was not right.

Oliver fumbled with something in his pocket. After a couple of seconds he pulled out an entangled bundle of multicoloured strings, which took several, valuable moments to untangle. When he finally had three separate strings, he handed Melanie and Dave one each. Melanie stared bewildered at the long string, what was this for? Dave apparently thought the same because he gestured questioningly towards Oliver, who at first looked annoyed but swiftly he realised what Dave was getting at.

"It's a prototype of Fred and George's Extendable Ears", Oliver breathed, and put one end of his string in his ear and put the other end below the door. "_Extendable_ Ears", he accentuated snarly when neither Melanie nor Dave understood. Dave shrugged and doubtfully followed his brother's lead. Melanie on the other hand, who trusted Fred and George, was not as hesitant to the multicoloured string she had put in her ear. She let it slide under the door and it wriggled away by itself, like a worm, a bit wobbly but at least it managed to get under the door.

Suddenly Melanie heard static, as if her ear had had a burnout. It was a bit unpleasant at first, but after a few seconds a voice interfered the noise. Melanie couldn't catch any words … a moment of silence … she barely dared to breathe.

All of a sudden she heard Mrs Marcus incredulous tone: "Grimauld Place?" Another moment of silence. "Of all the places in the world ..."

"You said it yourself honey, we don't have much of a choice." The Extendable Ear crackled as Mr Marcus moved around in the kitchen.

"But ..." Mrs Marcus didn't seem to know how to continue. "Horrible people have lived in that house!"

"Angelica …!"

"No offense, dear", added Mrs Marcus hastily.

"No no", murmured Allison. Another crackle as she went on: "Actually, Sirius would side with you." Melanie looked astonished from Dave to Oliver. _What on earth were they talking about in there?_

Mr Marcus cleared his throat. "I think Dumbledore knows what he's doing." Allison and Mrs Marcus fell silent and Melanie thought that they agreed. "I think we should get the kids", continued Mr Marcus. "The dinner's ready."

Melanie, Dave and Oliver jumped to their feet and sprinted into the living room, as fast as possible without making a sound. Melanie cursed inside while she took off and jumped over the sofa's back and landed on the mahogany brown pillows with a dull thud. Dave crashed down on her at the very same moment Oliver threw himself down in an armchair. Melanie tried to structure a we-have-been-sitting-here-all-the-time expression on her face.

Mrs Marcus stepped into the room. "Dinner's ready."

Oliver let out a low-voiced whistle as they went after Mrs Marcus to the kitchen. "Close call." Melanie sighed in relief and nodded.

"Melanie!" called Mr Marcus when she stepped into the kitchen. He was shorter than his wife and a bit chubby, but was never seen without the frisky glimpse in his dark brown eyes. Mr Marcus shook Melanie's hand. "Grand visit", he said with an eye blink and Melanie grinned. When he turned, Melanie could tell that his bald head was considerably larger than last time they met.

"_Oliver!_"

"Melanie, _watch out!_" She turned just in time to see Mrs Marcus avert a staple of dinner plates from flying straight into Melanie, with a sharp wave with her wand.

"Er … thanks", said Melanie, still with her eyes on the plates, which ominously enough still hung in the middle of the room. Mrs Marcus was busy giving Oliver such a scolder that Melanie thought his ears would fall off. Mr Marcus promised, with another eye blink towards Melanie, that he would teach Oliver a thing or two about household spells. Melanie couldn't help but burst into laughter. Soon the others tuned in and and Melanie felt the slight tension ease.

The rest of the evening went along without any more accidents and soon Melanie climbed after Dave, up the long and narrow stairs to the attic story. Oliver had turned around on the spot and Disapparated, saving several seconds.

"He does that all the time", muttered Dave. "Ever since we came home." Oliver had turned seventeen during his sixth year at Hogwarts and passed the Apparition examination.

"Slacker!" said Melanie.

"What did you say?" said Oliver and poked out his head through the doorway as Melanie and Dave reached the top of the stairs.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it, Oliver?" laughed Dave but quickly quietened down when Oliver gripped his neck and wrestled him down on one of the beds. Melanie just shot them an amused look, she was all drowsy from stuffing herself during dinnertime. Mr Marcus had outperformed himself with the delicious dinner, and that was a real achievement since he worked as a chef and a brilliant cook.

Melanie's gaze wandered towards the enormous windows and the amazing view. She had never slept in this room but she knew that when the sun rose, it lit up the whole space. The effect enhanced by the white walls. Melanie wondered whether Dave was jealous or not by the fact that Oliver had gotten the best room, since Dave's room was located on the other side of the attic. Melanie herself would gladly be waken up by the sun, it seemed good enough peaceful and serene. Not like all the times Fred and George had woken her up in the Burrow. Firecrackers and chickens in bed were far from peaceful.

"Hey, are you sleeping or what?" A pillow flopped down over Melanie. To be honest, one more second and she actually _would_ have fallen to sleep.

"What am I supposed to do then, when you're over there cuddling?" Dave and Oliver threw each other horrified eye beams and increased the distance between each other with at least thirty centimetres. Melanie laughed, but suddenly she became serious.

"Grimauld Place, where's that?" Dave shrugged and Oliver shook his head.

"There's something going on", he said. Melanie thought it sounded very ominously.

"But _what_ …?"

"Something they must keep secret from us ..." Oliver's tone was skeptical. In Melanie's opinion, the whole situation was very bizarre. Her mother couldn't possibly be involved in something secret, could she?

"Well ..." began Dave in a matter-of-fact way, clearing his throat. "Mum, dad, Allison, Sirius, Dumbledore ..."

"And Mr Weasley!" Melanie suddenly recalled her mother's mysterious conversation earlier that day.

"OK", continued Dave and looked thoughtful. "What if – Allison and Mr Weasley works together – what if they can't talk about it at the Ministry …!"

"'Cause the Ministry doesn't like Dumbledore", added Oliver.

"... and dad is still wanted!" Melanie's unexpected exhilaration mirrored back in Dave and Oliver's faces – she felt like a real super detective. But heavy steps in the stairs interrupted them. Melanie, Dave and Oliver stiffened and heard Mr Marcus stop and listened outside the bedroom door. Melanie didn't even dare to breathe until he had disappeared.

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><p>"What are your plans for today?" wondered Mr Marcus at breakfast time the next day. He put down <em>The Daily Prophet <em>while eyeing Melanie and Dave carefully.

"Well, we thought we should do some homework, you know ...", said Melanie with a broad smile. Mr Marcus threw his head back and laughed heartedly.

"Always the mysterious tone!" He chuckled heartily as Oliver came into the kitchen, yawning and with untidy hair.

"Look, here's my oldest son!" called Mr Marcus cheerfully. "Sit down, Oliver, sit down." He patted the chair beside him and waved his wand which made a plate of porridge appear. "Are you going to be as mysterious as those two?" By pretending to suppress another yawn, Oliver managed to raise his eyebrows towards Melanie and Dave on the other side of the table. Eventually he shrugged in reply to his father and grabbed a piece of toast with the porridge.

Once again, Mr Marcus burst out in laughter and his belly bobbled riskily. "Kids!" All of a sudden he became serious and lowered his voice as if he was afraid someone would eavesdrop on them. "But you better be careful, as you know, we live in dangerous times ..." He eyed all three of them carefully, as if to see if they understood. With an unpleasant jolt in her stomach, Melanie had a notion that Mr Marcus knew that herself, Dave and Oliver were onto them.

The silence broke by soft wingbeats, and Hedwig, Harry's snow-white owl, landed on the table. She had a letter each for Melanie and Dave.

_What's going on, why isn't anybody telling me anything?  
>Harry<em>

Dave's letter was identical. They couldn't do anything else but answer that nothing was going on.

"But should it be?" asked Melanie hesitantly and horrible pictures found their way into her brain. Family and friends attacked, wounded, gone … A sudden urge of guilty conscience hit Melanie, by the fact that Harry obviously was still locked up in his aunt and uncle's house. She added a couple "sorry"s and "if I could Apparate I would come for you right away" in her reply letter for Harry.

Melanie's question seemed to have started similar thoughts with the others because an alarming silence had fallen around the breakfast table.

"Has something happened?" Oliver asked his father in a demanding tone. Mr Marcus looked dumfounded for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"No, there's nothing you need to worry about", he said strictly and killed the conversation. The breakfast ended with silence and while up on the attic story, Melanie, Dave and Oliver separated in order to get dressed, the boys in Oliver's room and Melanie in Dave's.

It was a tremendously warm day and Melanie came up with the conclusion that she would wear a pair of jean shorts and her favourite tank top, which was striped in different colours. Problem was, the tank top was nowhere to be seen, so Melanie started to search for it in the gigantic trunk. This could take all day, she thought.

In that very moment, several happenings occurred at the same time.

Dave opened the door, but froze. Melanie realised she was only wearing a bra, yelled, and rushed for something to put on. The clothes spread all over the place.

"DAVE!" He slammed the door shut again and she could hear him shouting excuses from the other side. She now searched the trunk frenetically, and finally found what she was looking for.

"You can come in now." Dave looked ashamed and Melanie had to ensure him several times that everything was OK. She felt stupid for making him embarrassed.

"You know what, I convinced dad that –" Oliver became a question mark, figuratively speaking, when he saw them. He looked from Dave, who was leaning against the wall, looking shocked, to Melanie, who stood in the middle of the room with all her clothes scattered all over the place.

"What are you doing?"

Dave also watched the scene around him and seemed to lighten up – to Melanie's relief. He grinned at Oliver.

"What about it?" said Melanie. "I call it a horizontal wardrobe."

"Well, everybody else calls it floor", said Oliver with a smile. "But I was actually about to tell you that I convinced dad to let us spend the day at the lake!" He sounded as if he had achieved something very tricky and Melanie applauded him ironically. Oliver frowned. "It wasn't easy, let me tell you", he said and explained how their parents had had a hot-tempered argue whether the brothers should be home alone or not. It ended with a compromise; Mr Marcus stayed home the following weeks and he had kept them under carefully observation.

"Last night, for instance", said Dave.

Melanie shivered unintentionally at the feeling of the open and welcoming Marcus home she knew, slowly was about to change.

Nevertheless, within an hour they were on their way, carrying bags packed with delicious pies and snacks made by Mr Marcus. The once lush and vivid woods stood dry and empty. After about fifteen minutes of quiet walk, the trees thinned out and behind a thicket the small clearing, just over fifty metres in diameter, appeared. In the middle the little dark blue lake was located. On their right and at the opposite, the ground rose and in the distance the hills became mountains.

Their muted spirit changed drastically when the unfolded the enormous blanket in the moss and put down their bags.

"Slackers!" called Melanie, half-way into the water. All three of them had changed into bathing suits in the house but obviously Melanie was the one who fastest could rip off all her clothes. She threw herself into the water, it came as a nice contrast to the heat in the sun. Moments later she could hear splashes behind her; soon Dave and Oliver was beside her. They swum around a bit half-heartedly and splashed at each other.

"D'you think Harry meant You-Know-Who in the letter?" asked Oliver. He took a couple of swimming strokes with his eyes attached to Melanie and Dave. Despite he was serious, Melanie got the feeling that he'd been waiting all day to ask the question.

"Yes", answered Melanie determinately. "I also wonder what he's doing … _The Prophet_ hasn't reported a thing."

"Oh please", spit Dave.

Oliver frowned at Melanie. "The Ministry controls _The Prophet_ now, I bet Dave's wand" – Dave raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything – "Just think about all the crap they have been writing about Harry and Dumbledore."

"Then what about the Muggles?" wondered Melanie.

"No", said Dave. "I bet _Oliver_ that the Ministry doesn't have anything on the Muggles." Oliver grinned.

"So, maybe they would report if something happened?"

"Yeah, Mels, maybe, but I'm pretty sure they haven't. Then Harry of all people should know, shouldn't he?" Melanie nodded thoughtfully and felt a strong need for information, to get the whole picture explained and be told not to worry. Dave usually was an expert on those things. She knew that he was thinking, he chose his words carefully, formularized his thoughts. That's how he was, Dave.

"He … I think that You-Know-Who wants to keep it secret … Wasn't that the aim when he came back?" Dave eyed them hesitantly. They hadn't discussed the end of last term, when Harry returned from the maze with Cedric Diggory's dead body and shouted that Voldemort was back. Melanie shivered unintentionally by the mere thought.

"He wanted Harry to die then", said Oliver in low-voice and Melanie swallowed. An ice cold stone sank deep in her stomach, and when she opened her mouth, it was only a whisper, barely audible:

"Not knowing is scary."

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><p>The rest of the day they carefully avoided topics for conversation which contained evil wizards and murder. It felt like everyone wanted to do the best of the day, since Melanie was going home on the afternoon. Melanie herself didn't mind, except the fact that she was going home.<p>

Eventually the moment came, when Melanie sprinted around the attic story and threw all of her clothes and belongings back into the trunk. Meanwhile she wondered when they were going to see each other again, because first September was in Melanie's determined opinion far too late. They had however agreed to get in touch as soon as possible and was unanimous to find out more about their parents hush-hush. But since secrets were strictly forbidden in owl mail, they had another problem to solve.

"See you", said Melanie with a smile. She was standing in the living room, with her trunk in one hand and the other clasped floo powder. The whole Marcus family smiled back at her.

"You know I'm just an owl away", said Dave muted, he was standing closest to Melanie.

"I know", she mumbled before she threw the powder over the flames, which immediately flared up in bright green.

Dizzy, Melanie stumbled into her own living room. Mumbling voices reached her ears. She snorted testily, in a very Hermione-like way. Was her mother having another secret meeting again?

"Hullo, mum?" Maybe it was Dumbledore. No, that was to exaggerate a bit too much, Melanie thought to herself. Nevertheless all of her senses were uptight when she stepped into the kitchen. Allison was drinking tea and talked, gently smiling, to a man who sat with his back towards Melanie, she vaguely recognized the batted traveling cloak hanging over the back of the chair. He turned around and Melanie gazed astonished into the pre-aged face.

"Hello, Melanie", said her old teacher in Defence Against the Darks Arts, Remus Lupin.

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><p><strong>AN:** First off, I must say that I love to write this in English! I don't know how or why but everything seems so much more alive than when I write it in Swedish. Anyways, as I said, this took a very short amount of time (and I thank all of you of course) but I just wanna give you a heads up that next chapter probably wont be done this fast. Bear with me, I'm writing when I have the time! :)

Don't forget to review!

/CH


	3. Welcome home

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Welcome home<strong>

Out of everything Melanie had expected, this was nothing like it.

Remus Lupin smiled at her. Melanie got a flash back from her third year at Hogwarts; a younger and healthier Remus Lupin, smiling at the same way, and said she looked just like her father.

"But … Professor Lupin …?"

"Remus. I'm not your teacher anymore." She was very confused and stared from Remus to Allison, who watched her tea, and back again. "Please, sit down." Remus pulled out the chair beside him. "Tea?" Melanie nodded speechlessly.

"Why …?" was all she managed to say.

"Why am I here?" Melanie nodded again. Remus had that bad habit of being able to read her like an open book. She assumed she really was like her father.

"I'm going to take you with me to Sirius." Melanie had forgotten she had sent Howie. This time Remus answered before she even opened her mouth: "Your father is the second most wanted wizard in the country, you know. How would it look like if he just walked up the driveway and knocked your door?"

"Like he wanted to see his daughter", grinned Melanie.

"Precisely", said Remus. "That's why you're probably supervised by the Ministry."

"But he didn't do it!" said Melanie hotly.

"Like we said a year ago: We don't have any evidence. Peter got away."

"But we saw – !" spit Melanie.

"Calm down, Melanie. You know it was word against word", said Remus softly.

Yes, Melanie most certainly remembered how Snape first off had lied for the Minister and claimed that Sirius cast a Confundus Charm over Melanie, Harry, Ron and Hermione, and then Snape "accidentally" revealed that Remus was a werewolf, which had cost Remus his job.

"Don't think about it", said Remus. "Have you packed?" he asked instead. Melanie nodded – she hadn't even got any time to unpack. But she was still confused, and it hadn't really helped to be overwhelmed by old memories. And for the record, it was indeed overwhelming to walk into her own kitchen and be offered tea by Remus Lupin.

"I guess we're ..." he began, facing Allison, and stood up. He squeezed her shoulder encouragingly when he passed her. "Sirius is waiting. I guess we'll tell you everything you need to know when we're there", he continued, now turned to Melanie. "Are you coming?"

She jumped to her feet and fetched her trunk and Howie's empty cage. She had been a bit worried when he didn't return, but now she knew he was with Sirius. Allison sat in the same position, obviously far away in mind. Suddenly Melanie became aware of Remus' look in her neck and felt obligated to say something to her mother.

"Well, bye mom. I'm going now."

"Have fun", said Allison rather blankly.

"We're traveling with the Knight Bus", explained Remus when they stepped out on the little street in front of the house, Melanie lugging her trunk and owl cage. Remus stretched out his wand arm. A sharp bang rang and the squally purple, triple decked Knight Bus appeared in front of them.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus", said the pimpled conductor Stan Shunpike and stepped out on the street. He helped Melanie with her baggage and Remus paid.

"Now hang on a minute ..." said Stan suddenly and gazed at Melanie. "You look like ..." His face wrinkled from concentration, a look worthy the Slytherin Gregory Goyle. "Ernie, doesn' she look jus' like that crazy murderer Sirius Black, does she! Yeah, sure she does! I remember him 'cause Harry Potter travelled with us, two years ago, and he didn' kno' who Sirius Black was, so I showed him the picture from _The Prophet_, didn't I, Ern?" said Stan and it almost appeared as if he was talking to himself, rather than the driver Ernie.

Melanie, who was so happy and relieved to finally meet Sirius, became entirely flabbergasted by hearing Stan talk about her father and Harry, as if they were exhibition objects. Anger sparkled inside her.

A calming hand was put on her shoulder. Remus seemed to know she became angry and as usual he had a soothing effect on her, knowing which button to press, so she swallowed her vicious answer and let herself be guided backwards in the bus. They climbed the stairs to the second floor. The bus wasn't crowded but everyone who had heard what Stan said goggled Melanie as if she carried a contagious infection. Melanie got extremely snarly and glared furiously back.

Eventually she found a somewhat lone seat in the very front of the bus (after a pale witch had left her seat, while staring so much, Melanie imagined her eyes popping out). Melanie put her trunk down and sat on the seat closest to the window, with Howie's cage in her lap. Remus sat next to her.

"He –!" she began, at the same time the bus hopped to the countryside and their chairs slid backwards.

"I know ..." interrupted Remus. "How was it at Dave's?"

As tactful as always, he changed subject for conversation. Melanie felt an unexpected wave of affection for Remus. She's always seen him as somewhat of an uncle – since it felt like she'd always known Remus, as if he'd always been there for her, even though they only had known each other for about two years. When she later on found out that Remus and Sirius were close friends during their own Hogwarts time, he certainly fit in under the dad's-brother-category.

"We had so fun ..." Melanie told Remus everything that had happened and what they had done at Dave's house – and it was not an easy task since their chairs were flying all over the place. When she told him about Allison's and Mr and Mrs Marcus conversation and Dave's conclusions Melanie could see a slight twitch in Remus' corners of his mouth.

"What! You know something!"

"Let's just say that Dave is a very sharp lad." Melanie stuck her tongue out. "Come on, finish your story", said Remus teasingly and didn't manage to hide his amusement. Melanie, who didn't want to sit around and pretend being angry with him, came around and continued her telling. In that moment the bus made a sharp jump and an abrupt stop. Melanie and Remus' chairs crashed into empty seats, other travelers and their luggage and formed a giant pile in the front. It took them several minutes to free themselves from the disorder, find Melanie's baggage and sit down again – before Melanie could finish her story.

They kept on chitchatting until Stan yelled "King's Cross!" and the bus stopped so sharp they almost flew out the front window. Remus rose and pulled Melanie on her feet.

"But … why – ?" Melanie believed she must have missed something very important since she didn't understand why they stopped at King's Cross. They weren't catching a train, were they? Remus shoved her down the stairs and towards the exit.

"Later", he said strictly. The other passengers began staring again while Stan helped Melanie with her baggage.

"You should kno' you really look like –"

"My dad, yeah I know", said Melanie in reply. She waved provokingly good bye – the moment later the bus had vanished with a loud crack.

"Come on", said Remus and started walking. "We're stretching our legs for a while. And I'm not sure if that was the best of good byes … but you are your father's daughter ..." A broad grin spread in Melanie's face. She was indeed her father's daughter.

"Thanks", she grinned. "But why'd we stop here?" A fleetingly smile flew across Remus' face.

"It's safety precautions", he answered mysterious. Melanie became very curious and tried to get more out of him but Remus retained like a clam. "I _will _tell you – soon."

They kept walking in silence in, what in Melanie's book seemed like an eternity, but in fact was about twenty minutes. They entered a small open space, with a rampant grassplot in the middle, surrounded by worn houses, all looking like they've been there for centuries. Despite the light summer sky, the corners were dark and dusky; all the street lamps were put out, Melanie noticed surprised.

Was this the place where Sirius was hiding? Did he live here? If Melanie's life had been different, would she'd been living here now? Would she'd liked it? The question's spun in her head.

A cheerful dog bark broke the silence and woke Melanie from her speculations. A large, black dog came leaping towards them. Melanie's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the dog. She was home.

"Padfoot!" hissed Remus as the dog skipped around their legs, almost making them trip over him. Melanie fancied joyful leaps together with Sirius, but instead she tripped over him and would have fallen head first if Remus hadn't grabbed her by the arm.

All of a sudden, a man stood in front of them. He was tall and thin and wore a sky-blue robe beneath a black traveling cloak. His long, wavy, silver hair and beard was unmistakeably characteristic.

"Good evening, Remus", greeted Albus Dumbledore.

"Good evening", answered Remus.

"I see you have miss Black with you", Dumbledore continued and stretched out his hand.

"Pro-Professor", said Melanie and shook his hand. She looked from Dumbledore, to Remus, to Sirius, who was still skipping around them, and back again. This definitely had to be some kind of joke. The Headmaster smiled.

"Everything is set now, Remus. I think Melanie here needs an explanation –" he said, facing Remus. "Which she also will receive ..." he added when Melanie opened her mouth. "... inside!" he finished with a excited expression. Vaguely Melanie wondered whether he thought himself funny, but got second thoughts when Dumbledore pulled out a small piece of parchment and handed it over to Melanie and Remus.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. _

Dumbledore watched Melanie, who once again wondered if she had missed out on something. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Fidelius Charm", murmured Remus, once again before Melanie had even asked.

"Before I leave, and before you go inside, Remus, I want to talk to Melanie", said Dumbledore. Melanie wondered who had stuffed her brain full with Fizzing Whizzbees, because her brain seemed to be fizzing from the overload.

"Melanie, I must ask you to promise me, not to tell Harry anything about the Order of the Phoenix – " Melanie felt her face turn into a surprised look. Why wasn't Harry supposed to know? He didn't know a thing, while he was locked up and alone in his aunt and uncle's house.

"Why?" she said in a defiant tone.

"You've got to promise me." His voice was mild and friendly as usual; he didn't seem to take notice of her resistance, and that made irritated her.

"Why?" she repeated.

"Harry mustn't know more than he needs to know, and you may never, under any circumstances, write anything important in a letter. Letters can be snatched and read, and the last thing we want is our secrets leaking out to … let's say … unauthorized." His tone was still mild but when Melanie met his eyes they radiated a certainty and appeared to be looking through Melanie's very own thoughts.

"Promise me, Melanie." She nodded with an uncomfortable feeling in her midriff, the feeling of being read like a book by the Headmaster, mixed with the unpleasant feeling of Harry still being kept ignorant.

Suddenly Melanie became unaware of what happened around her, in an infrequency way she was preoccupied with thoughts and merely noticed when Dumbledore disappeared in thin air, or when Remus, with a wave of his wand, followed by a numerous clicking sounds from different locks, locked up a door that hadn't been there when they arrived. Neither did she noticed herself walking through the black painted and very old door to number twelve.

Inside, Melanie returned to reality by a peculiar and nasty smell, from something very old, almost … rotten. But she hadn't much time to reflect over the smell or the gruesome soul in the room, because she was shoved down the stairs and down into the basement. The door closed and Sirius, in his human form, strode towards her and embraced her in a bear hug. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

"You OK?" he asked.

"Yeah", said Melanie.

"Welcome by the way!" grinned Sirius hand made an ironical hand gesture towards the room. Melanie looked around and realised that it was more of a kitchen rather than a basement – a long table was placed in the middle, which Remus had sat down by and placed his cobbled traveling cloak over the back of the chair, and casseroles and frying pans were hanging from the ceiling. The only light source was a fire, which crackled joyfully in the far end of the room.

"D'you live here?" asked Melanie and the stiff smile from Sirius' face and was replaced with a exasperated expression.

"I never thought I'd have to come back here. This was my parents house ..." He seemed for a moment lost in the past. "A portrait of my mother is hanging in the hall, that's the reason why we didn't stay there longer than necessary." He realised that Melanie didn't understand and continued: "She doesn't like having me back." He laughed bitterly and marched to the stove. Melanie had expected … well, a different place than Sirius childhood home.

"You hungry?" asked Sirius. Melanie nodded, still quiet. He started to boil pasta and fried some meatballs. Remus put three Butterbeers on the table and Melanie found tomato sauce in the spence. They sat down by the table and started to eat with good appetite. There were so many things Melanie wanted to know but she just didn't seem to know what to ask first. Sirius noticed her quietness.

"You regret coming here?" he asked. How could she? She met his gaze and realised he was just teasing her

"Never", she said in reply.

"How was it at Dave's?" Melanie began once again to tell about Allison's and Mr and Mrs Marcus' hush-hush, Harry's letter and the trip to the lake.

"Smart kids", said Sirius smilingly when she was done.

Remus nodded. "I said the same thing."

"But …" said Melanie and put her knife and fork together on the empty plate. "Can't you tell me? What's going on?"

"Well", said Sirius and scratched his stubble. "They were right. Voldemort doesn't have much going on, at least not outwards."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Melanie. "'Not outwards'?"

"Well, let's put it like this; he's not home, laying on the couch and sucking his thumb. As far as we know he's trying to build up his army again, but in the dark."

"Despite the fact that Dumbledore learned immediately that he's back, the whole situation is in his favor. It's Fudge's and The Ministry's approach that make people have doubts, and it creates fear." Melanie understood what Remus meant and she repeated what she had said to Dave and Oliver:

"Not knowing is scary." Remus nodded seriously and Sirius patted her comforting on the back. "But I wonder … what's the Order of the Phoenix?" Remus lowered his butterbeer. "Dumbledore spoke about it outside ..." Sirius threw Remus an astonished look.

"She doesn't know?"

Remus put down his drink and shook his head. "Allison hasn't told her."

"Hasn't told –" said Sirius testily.

"Hasn't told me what?" uttered Melanie, bursting with curiosity.

"No, Sirius", said Remus as if there had been no interruption. Melanie felt like a kid, trying desperately to convince her parents to buy ice cream in the middle of ice cold winter. Remus continued: "Whether you like it or not, Melanie actually has a mother too."

"Why do you always have to defend her?"

"I wouldn't need to, if you stopped attacking her ..." said Remus restrainedly.

"Oh, come on", Sirius burst out.

"You know that things aren't they way they were before – it's been, what, thirteen years – "

"It's not like you can put that on me", Sirius cut off darkly.

"No", said Remus hastily. "You know I don't. But she's been through a though time –"

"_Then what have I been through?_" Sirius raised his voice.

"... I just mean that it hasn't been a bed of roses outside either, Sirius! Allison was eighteen years old and had lost _everything_. Her family turned their back on her, she was unemployed and you were gone. How easy do you think it was raising a baby in that state?"

"Of course, perfectly good old Remus came and saved the day, didn't he?" spit Sirius ironically. "You slept with her too?"

"All I did ..." began Remus close-bitten. Melanie had never seen him try so hard not to lose his self-possession. "All I did … was to take care of my best friend's daughter … and her mother …!"

Both Sirius and Remus had stood up and was now standing on each side of the table and scowled at each other. Melanie was terrified by the thought of them pouncing at each other at any second, so she cleared her throat as loudly as she could.

"Er … well, hullo ..." She waved her arms and they broke their intense eye contact and turned, with milder expressions, to Melanue. "Yes … I'm still here", she said. "And I still wonder what the Order of the Phoenix is ..."

Sirius opened his mouth but Remus cut him off. "Not again", moaned Melanie.

"Allison has kept quiet for a reason", said Remus in a calm voice. "For Melanie's sake, try to cooperate ..."

"No, no don't let me cause any problem, none at all", muttered Melanie.

Sirius bridled his neck uncompromisingly. "I still think she has the right to know, especially if she's gonna live in _the Headquarters._"

Melanie felt a sudden urge to jump onto the table and celebrate with every victory gesture she knew, but believed this was not appropriate at the moment. Instead, she sat there, quiet and waited keenly.

With a last look at Remus, Sirius began talking: "Dumbledore created the Order before the first war. It's a group of witches and wizards who dare to pick up the battle with the dark side."

"Have you always been a part of it?" asked Melanie breathlessly. Remus nodded and Sirius continued.

"Yes, we joined after school ..." He looked crestfallen when he thought back, and hesitated slightly. "... But when Voldemort disappeared the Order wasn't needed anymore – until now, obviously. Dumbledore summoned the Order about an hour after his return, and here we are now."

"But, what do you do, more exactly?"

"Well", said Sirius after a reproachful look from Remus. "The biggest problem now is really to get people to understand that Voldemort is back. Far to many people believes The Prophet, though", said Sirius grimly.

"How do you become a member of the Order?" asked Melanie eagerly. Remus sighed and hid his face in his hands. Sirius didn't look surprised either, but shocked Melanie with his answer.

"Oh no, there's the line. Honey, you can't join." Remus looked up, almost taken aback, when Sirius continued. "By the way, it's neither fun nor adventurous or whatever you might think – we don't really run around and battle Death Eaters every five minutes. Me, I'm sitting here on my butt! Ask Remus instead, at least he has duty", proclaimed Sirius and threw his arms out towards Remus.

"Sirius …!"

But Sirius just grinned and caught Melanie yawning. "Aha!" he said and jumped to his feet. "Sleepy, say good night to Moony and I'll show you where you're sleeping." Sirius pulled Melanie out of the kitchen, past the dark hallway and up more stairs. Melanie vaguely wondered whether the whole house consisted of stairs and doors, since that was all she could she in the absent light and the dust flowing around like mist.

Finally Sirius stopped at a landing step and opened a worn door. He brought an ancient gas lamp to life and in the obscure light Melanie could see a small room with two old beds at each side of the room. In the far end a giant wardrobe stood leaning on one side. The doors were lying on the floor.

"Er, yeah", said Sirius and cleared his throat while he sat down on the left bed. The bedsprings groaned. "Not really a five star hotel, but I reckon it'll do. You don't wanna know how it looked like before." The last sentence he just mumbled and hoped Melanie wouldn't hear. But she did.

"Tell me", she said and surveyed her own bed. He didn't respond immediately, but when he did, he was serious.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. It should have stayed between Remus and myself ..." Melanie stiffened. She didn't know how to answer, she didn't even know what she thought about the whole situation. I had just been very … awkward. However, she was relieved to realise that Sirius didn't expected an answer, he just leaned forward and kissed her in the forehead.

"You're my Pearl, you know that, don't you?" he said with a warm smile and stood up. Melanie thought about her middle name. "I gave you that name, you know", he said.

"I've always wondered who came up with that weird name …!"

"Hey!" laughed Sirius and stopped in the doorway. "I love you honey."

"I love you too, dad."

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><p><strong>AN:** Aaaaaaand enter favourite J.K. characters! What do you think about my portrayal? Is it worthy?


	4. Headquarter house guests

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p><strong>AN: **I just want to say a big thank you all for taking your time to read! It keeps me going strong :) Here's a new, very long chapter for you guys! Please comment or review, I want to know what you think! How are my portrayals of the original characters?

**Update:** January 15th, 2012; just fixed some wrong spelling and grammar mistakes here and there.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Headquarter house guests<strong>

"You have a visitor", greeted Sirius when Melanie arrived at breakfast the next morning. Melanie's spirit immediately rose as she lay eyes on her very own barn owl sitting on the table.

"Howie!" She rushed forward and stroke his brown feathers. He welcomed her with a soft hoot and took a quick sip from the orange juice.

"It's a nice owl", said Sirius.

"Yeah", said Melanie and remembered how Howie just had flown into her room one day with a short letter telling her it was an early thirteenth birthday gift and signed by a paw print. _"It's from your dad", _had Allison told her.

"But how did you know I didn't have an owl?" asked Melanie curiously.

"I didn't, but that wasn't really the point." Sirius paused and smiled at her. "I wanted to keep an eye on you – but you never realised I was only on owl away."

"Oh", said Melanie blankly. The mere thought had never crossed her mind. "How come you never contacted med then?"

"Well", said Sirius. "If the Ministry had found out, you and your mom would have gotten into a lot of trouble. I would never risk that." He paused and looked at her seriously. "Moony did tell you about you probably being supervised didn't he?"

"Yeah he did", said Melanie. "But still ..." It was disappointing to realise how easy it would have been to contact her father all the times she really wanted to talk to him.

"I couldn't stand being all absent you know. Had already been for twelve years, I just had to know if something happened to you. And believe me I would." He gave Howie the last piece of bread and smiled wryly towards Melanie.

After the breakfast Melanie decided to take a closer look on the house. In her opinion the enormous stairwell seemed to have an endless amount of doors.

"Be careful!" called Sirius reproachfully after her when she left the kitchen and aimed her steps a story up.

The door didn't appeared to have been used for years and Melanie had to make a real effort to open it. It seemed to be a living room she stumbled into, an oblong, high-ceilinged room. A writing desk by the wall was vibrating slightly and the long, olive-green curtains buzzed alarmingly but the object which caught Melanie's eye was the tapestry covering the far wall. _The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black – Toujours pur_, it read in large gold letters. Melanie hastened curiously forward and found a family tree. To her surprise she didn't find her dad's name anywhere, but another familiar name showed up – Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father.

"Ugh", Melanie burst out loudly, before she could contain herself. The mere thought of being related to the Malfoys made her feel very uncomfortable.

All of a sudden she noticed that the buzzing sound from the curtains had increased. She started to walk as fast as she could, without running, towards the door. Just then, the fabric flickered and a bunch of tiny, hairy creatures with sharp claws and pointy teeth came flying in Melanie's direction. They didn't look friendly minded. Without further ado Melanie sprinted as fast as she could and slammed the door close behind her.

"Close call", she mumbled to herself, panting slightly. A vicious muttering by her feet made her jump and look down. She had crashed into a small, wrinkled creature which looked so old that Melanie queried whether it managed to rise from the floor. "I'm sorry!" she said and when she kneeled down to help, she realised it was a house elf. Melanie had never seen anyone being so old that white hair was pointing out of the ears, in this case large, bat like ears. The elf however stood up without her help.

"There were some hairy, flying little figures in there who chased me", she excused herself with. The elf eyed her. "Er … what's your name?" she tried in a friendly tone.

"Werewolves, thieves and rabble!" spit the elf, more to himself than Melanie, it appeared. "But now it's a new girl … She speaks to Kreacher. She speaks _friendly_ to Kreacher – but looks like a squirt, she does!" Melanie raised her eye brows, amazed by his words. "Yes …" said Kreacher and looked carefully into Melanie's face. "Kreacher can she looks just like my mistress' scum to son, who comes back from Azkaban and makes a mess ..."

"Hey, that's my dad you're talking about!" said Melanie strictly.

Kreacher gave Melanie a watering look. "Kreacher is very surprised that master reproduced, when he smells like a sewer."

"Kreacher!"

The elf shook his head. "Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black." He wandered away, still muttering. "... What will my poor mistress say … dragging the name Black in the dirt is what they're doing ..." Melanie was so amazed she didn't know what to say.

Instead she continued her investigation of the house. Flying balls of hair with claws and an apparently lunatic house elf proved to be just the beginning. Generally speaking, every room was dark, gloomy, extremely dusty and hid some nasty secret. She encountered homicidal robes, a carnivorous litter bin, an ancient clockwork which amused itself by peppering Melanie with screws and an empty, but laughing painting who found it very drolly when Melanie was chased by the litter bin. The basement kitchen seemed more and more cozy the longer the day went on.

When the portrait of Sirius' mother woke up and started to scream horrible things about Sirius, Melanie really began to understand how much Sirius disliked being back on Grimmauld Place. That's what she told him when they met in the staircase. Sirius was holding a curiously, bloody sack.

"But I don't understand … why did _they_ dislike _you_?" Sirius sighed heavily.

"I'll show you." They walked up the stairs to a door which had Sirius' name on it. He opened it (and to Melanie's relief he left the curious sack outside).

Melanie was amazed by the fact that the big room was beautiful, despite the spider web in the grand chandelier and despite the thin layer of dust, covering the paintings on the wall. In the corner there stood a large bed, but what caught Melanie's eye were the big Gryffindor banners covering the walls and the combination of red and gold made Melanie feel more home than ever. Sirius had sat down on the bed and eyed her.

"You see?" he said. "I was different from them – they and their pure blood obsession! Every single one of them belonged to Slytherin and my mother never forgave me for ending up in Gryffindor ..." Sirius lowered his eyes but Melanie could see the hate filling his face. She sat down on the bed beside him. "Eventually, I had enough … when I was sixteen I left and never looked back. That's when she erased me from the family tree", he finished bitterly.

"Where'd you go?" asked Melanie carefully.

"To James' of course. They were good people, the Potters. They let me stay until I found my own place." Sirius stood up. "I don't like being back here." He picked up the bloody sack outside the door.

"What _is _that?" asked Melanie suspiciously.

Sirius eyed her with a grin. "It's for Buckbeak", he answered and opened the second door on the landing step, and quite right, there lay the wanted hippogriff whom Sirius had escaped on just over a year ago. Melanie had a feeling that this house wouldn't stop surprising her.

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><p>That very evening Melanie's prediction turned out to be quite right. Melanie, Sirius and Remus had just finished a sausage and potato dinner and was clearing the table when the door bell rang. The sharp tone woke the portrait of Mrs Black.<p>

"_Scum! Filthy egg-laying mammals! Half breads!_" she yelled furiously until Sirius and Remus was able to shut her up. Melanie, who stayed in the kitchen and continued to wipe the table with a dishrag, was very curious to know who the visitor was so she pricked her ears carefully. As the kitchen door opened, Melanie pretended to be very interested in the wet rag she was holding, but when she looked up she was taken aback. Between the smiling Sirius and Remus stood a young witch with bubble gum pink hair and a pale heart-shaped face. She was not smiling, but radiating with joy.

"Melanie!" she cried.

"Tonks!" cried Melanie and hurled away the dishrag, which got stuck in the ceiling, and threw herself over Tonks. They hugged each other tightly.

"I've missed you so much!" said Melanie into Tonks' curly hair.

"I haven't seen you for donkey's years!" replied Tonks. Both Sirius and Remus had time to retrieve the rag and sit down by the table before Tonks finally let go and held Melanie at arm length away and eyed her carefully.

"You've grown so much! But I'm so sorry, we'll have to catch up some other time, I have duty tonight –" Remus cleared his throat loudly. Tonks chuckled slightly. "Right, sorry. I heard you were in the headquarter, Mels, so I just _had _to stop by and say hi. We'll see each other again, very soon – I promise!" And with another tight hug she hurried out, unintentionally waking up the portrait again.

When Melanie was going to bed not long after Tonks' departure, she was still a bit taken aback. She changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed; the bedsprings squeaked softly. She turned out the lights but still in the pitch black darkness she was not quite able settle down. It really had been years since Melanie and Tonks last met. They had grown up together and were almost like sisters, though they weren't closer related than Sirius and Tonks' mother being cousins.

After a few minutes of thinking back hard, Melanie came to the conclusion that she and Tonks hadn't met since Melanie's first trip to Hogwarts, and that was four years ago. Melanie felt a twinge in her heart.

Melanie didn't remember this, but she'd been told that Tonks had been seven years old when Melanie was born and she loved to look in and see the baby. About a year later Sirius had been sent to Azkaban and Allison was taken in by the Weasley family for a time, but they moved out when Melanie was around three years old and ever since then Tonks visited at summertime when she was home from Hogwarts. She was like the big sister Melanie never had and vice versa.

Melanie remembered the summer she was six, when Tonks had gotten hold of a baby nappy and chased Melanie around while Melanie yelled that she'd quit using nappies ages ago. Numerous times the two of them had taken advantage of the fact that Tonks was a Metamorphmagus and tricked several people as identical Melanie Black's.

When Melanie finally fell asleep childhood memories popped in and out her dreams.

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><p>The following day Melanie, Sirius and Remus tried to make the house fairly inhabitable, but it was not an easy task since the whole house seemed to put up a fight. That night Melanie was exhausted and it wasn't until the next evening Tonks fulfilled her promise. She dropped in to dinner companied with Kingsley Shacklebolt from the Auror Deparment and a strange man named Mundungus Fletcher, who according to Sirius was a real crook.<p>

It turned out to be a really nice meal. The steak and kidney pudding they cooked tasted really good and the company was impossible to complain about. Remus and Kingsley came into a serious discussion about the Ministry and Dung told Sirius about his last bargain of stolen objects.

Tonks turned to Melanie, radiating with joy. As always. "D'you remember when I tried to teach you how to make an apple pie?" she asked, and suppressed her laughter.

"Yeah!" giggled Melanie and together they broke up with laughter from the memory. The result of the baking could best be described as it looked like a bomb had exploded in the kitchen.

"You've grown so much, I can't believe you're starting your fifth year now … what house are you in? Tell me everything."

Melanie told her about her friends, how they met on the Hogwarts Express, all the pranks she, Fred and George had come up with, all the adventures with Harry, Ron and Hermione, all the homework and how she wouldn't survive without Dave. Tonks was an excellent listener.

"I feel so old!" Tonks laughed and drank some butterbeer.

"What have you been doing then?" asked Melanie curiously.

"I don't know if you know this, but last year I finished my auror training!"

"Whoa! So you're an auror now?" said Melanie amazed.

"Yep", said Tonks and smiled proudly.

"Wow – congratulations!" said Melanie and was sincerely proud. "You must be excellent in disguise." Tonks chuckled and nodded.

"Have you considered the auror line, Melanie? I've heard that you're really skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts", said Kingsley, who was sitting beside Tonks, and looked at Remus from the corner of his eye.

"No … or – well I haven't really been thinking at all ..."

The others burst into laughter.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was true, Mel!" said Tonks and laughed her ripple laugh again. Melanie joined in.

"I agree with Kingsley, Melanie", said Remus when everyone had calmed down a bit. She actually had not considered it, but the thought of catching evil wizards was tempting. After all DADA was her favourite subject.

"Maybe you'll be the one catching me", said Sirius and grinned.

"Never", she replied determinedly. Sirius' grin turned into a smile.

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><p>It was a while since Melanie heard something from her friends, so she decided to write to them, saying she was fine and with Snuffles. Though, she felt obligated to update Dave about what she had found out about their parents hush-hush, so his letter was a bit longer than the others.<p>

_Hi best friend.  
>You were right, I survived, and I'm with Snuffles now. You were right about everything. Remember what we overheard? I know everything about it now, because I'm right in the middle of it. Hope you understand what I'm saying or this will just look weird. How are you doing?<br>Mel_

"It's one for Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione", Melanie told Howie when she tied the four letters to his leg. Melanie felt bad for Harry so she ensured him in his letter that she would try to get him out from the muggle house. "Watch out for Harry's uncle", murmured Melanie to Howie and he eyed her with his round, dark eyes. She was sure he understood. A moment later he took off through her small bedroom window, turned round a tall building and was gone.

A couple of days went by without any answer. Order members came and went, Melanie had met most of them by now, but she still wasn't allowed at their meetings so she fled upstairs to Buckbeak's room when they occurred. Melanie, Sirius and Remus hadn't had much progress with the cleaning, as Snape put it, so there were still occasions when Melanie stumbled upon some weird thing that tried to poke her eyes out. Once that actually happened; she investigated a cupboard in the dining room when a creepy little metal thingy with long, thin legs ran up over her arm. It was very fortunate that Tonks was in the room and saved Melanie's eyes. After that Sirius insisted that Melanie would stop walking around the house alone.

When Howie came back one morning, tapping Melanie's window, he had four replies tied to his leg. Both Ron and Hermione told her a little bit about their summer and was happy that she was with Sirius, while Harry didn't seem happy at all, he seriously doubted that he would get out the house before September the first. Dave's answer was the shortest but also the most exciting.

_Hello.  
>I'm fine, you're not going to believe this but I think we'll come to you!<em>

_Hopefully we'll see each other soon.  
>Dave<em>

Melanie spent her day waiting for the door bell to ring. When it finally did, some time after dinner and when another Order meeting just had begun, she sprinted down the stairs. By the landing step to the hall she crashed into two brightly red haired figures, on their way upstairs. Melanie hurtled forward and hit her head in someone else's, the twins hurled backwards into a mass of people who shouted in surprise and they landed in a disordered mess below Mrs Black's portrait which woke up and started to scream insults all over the place.

Sirius and Remus came out through the kitchen door and for a moment they froze and watched, astonished, the scene in front of them, before they rushed over to shut the portrait up. The silence was for a couple of seconds earsplitting before the mass of people on the floor started to wail.

"Ouch ..."

"What happened?"

"Bloody hell ..."

Melanie found herself lying full length on top of Fred Weasley.

"Well hello there Mels, how nice to see you!" said Fred half-choked and sat up.

"Yeah, you made a _strikingly_ entrance indeed", said George and pulled Melanie to her feet, she laughed.

"I'm sorry!"

"What are you doing?" asked Sirius as he helped Ginny up.

"I wonder exactly the same thing", said a voice which Melanie cheerfully recognized as Hermione's. She leaped forward and clasped her.

"Hey!"

"Well, _that_ explains a lot", proclaimed Oliver ironically and ruffled Melanie's hair. "We barely made it through the door before you threw yourself over us."

"You were in my way", answered Melanie teasingly and greeted Dave, Ron and Ginny. Sirius interrupted them:

"Hey, Melanie, you've got to go upstairs 'cause the Order's having a meeting. Why wont you show them around or something", he added ironically. Melanie grinned, but showed Hermione, the Weasley siblings and the Marcus brothers upstairs.

"How are you guys? Dave – they said you were right about everything! Hermione, how's Crookshanks? Ron – you're so tall! How's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" They reached Melanie's room and she kept babbling on about the carnivorous litter bin and the homicidal robes, before Fred demanded to know everything about the Order. Melanie told them everything she knew (which only meant what Sirius had told her, since she was't aloud on the meetings).

"I wonder why they've kept it secret from us", said Oliver thoughtfully, when Melanie was finished.

"I'm more interested in why they haven't let us join", said George. Hermione eyed them skeptically.

"Well", she said in a matter-of-fact way. "You may be over age but you're still in school." The twins gave her vicious looks.

"Yes", said Dave, teasing his brother. "You're still too young!"

"I'll hex you!" Oliver lunged himself over Dave and they hit the bed with a dull thud and a painful shriek from the bedsprings, a great cloud of dust rose from the mattress. Luckily Mrs Weasley soon interrupted them by calling them all down for dinner. Oliver, Fred and George turned around on the spot and Disapparated.

"They're driving me insane", muttered Mrs Weasley darkly but lit up when she lay eyes on Melanie. "Melanie dear, how are you?" She clasped her tightly.

"I'm fine, how about yourself Mrs Weasley?" Melanie answered, rather muffled by Mrs Weasley's embrace.

"Oh, I've been better", Mrs Weasley said indeterminately. They could hear her mutter as she walked in front of the down the stairs: "What's the thing about all the dust, haven't anyone been cleaning this place?"

The basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place had probably never felt this homelike. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Marcus were all in the act of cleaning up after the meeting, in the middle of vivid discussions or making an effort by the stove.

Mrs Weasley and Mr Marcus combined their kitchen skills and after three servings of dessert, Melanie established that it was among the best meals she'd ever had.

As Melanie scraped her plate for the last lump of vanilla sauce, she could see how Fred and George exchanged looks and how Oliver bridled his neck, all three of them with resolute facial expressions.

"When were you going to tell us about the Order?" Fred finally asked, facing his parents. Oliver gazed at Mr and Mrs Marcus. The spirit in the room slowly changed, and the joyful conversations died away as everyone realised what had been uttered. Everybody seemed to watch Mrs Weasley, Fred and George. Surprisingly enough, Melanie noticed that Mrs Weasley first threw a glance at Melanie and then an irritated look at Sirius, before she answered. Dave and Hermione, next to Melanie, had also noticed.

"We want to fight!" said George.

"You're too young!" cried Mrs Weasley.

"We're actually over age", said Oliver boldly.

"Why not?" George continued rebelliously.

"The members of the Order of the Phoenix have finished school", said Mr Marcus with a firm, resolute voice. Mrs Weasley gave him a thankful look. In the split second of complete silence, Melanie realised something. She had been too happy to finally meet everyone again that she didn't notice that it actually wasn't everyone.

"Where's Harry?" she asked, in a loud voice. "Everyone's here except for Harry. Why?" She looked around the table, but nobody seemed to know the answer to her question. Mrs Weasley, though, turned uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well", said Hermione tentatively. "Dumbledore made us swear not to tell Harry ..."

"But I did", said Melanie. "I mean, not everything of course", she added hastily, when all the Order members looked chocked. "Just that I was with dad ..."

"Dumbledore doesn't want Harry to know ...", Mr Marcus finally said in a calm voice.

"But that's unfair!" Melanie burst out.

"_... more than he needs to know_", finished Mr Marcus and eyed Melanie firmly. "Dumbledore has his reasons for everything", he added in a friendly way, but his brown eyes were very earnest. Melanie felt she'd gotten no answer to her question at all and looked around the table for any help. Sirius looked thoughtful and Remus had his eyes fixed on Melanie.

"Now, that's enough!" said Mrs Weasley sharply. "Go to bed, all of you!"

* * *

><p>They didn't ask anymore question's about neither the Order, nor Harry, but four weeks in on the vacation they just had to.<p>

_I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here._

"WHAT?" yelled Melanie so loud that Hedwig hooted and flew away from her, frightened. Hermione and Ginny burst into the room.

"What's going on?"

"Why're you yelling?"

"Look – Harry ..." Melanie gave them the letter with a shaking hand. She was so upset that she barely was able to put the words together. Hermione let out a little yelp and Ginny fell silent and became very pale.

CRACK. The twins Apperated right behind Melanie.

CRACK. Oliver Apperated right in front of her.

"ARGH!" she shouted and jumped aside.

"Always the merry tone, Mel" said George with a smile as the door opened again and Dave and Ron appeared.

"What?" asked Ron bewilderedly. Ginny handed him Harry's letter. Dave, Oliver, Fred and George read over his shoulder. About the same time all five of their facial expressions became grimly surprised, before they looked up on Melanie, as if she was pulling their leg. Ron was the first one to recover:

"But … the Dementors are supposed to be guarding Azkaban … You don't think …?" The unfinished sentence hanged ominously in the air, no one dared to finish it. What if the Dementors had changed sides?

"We have to tell the Order!" said Hermione suddenly, and made all of them woke up from their paralyzations and sprint down the stairs (except from Oliver, Fred and George who Disapparareted).

"Harry's been attacked by Dementors!" shouted Melanie feverishly when they all stormed into the kitchen. She was still holding Harry's letter and waved it under Sirius and Remus' noses.

"Calm down", said Remus composedly. Sirius took the letter from Melanie and started to pace back and forth in the room. Mrs Weasley looked very upset; she was holding a tissue and her eyes constantly wandered towards the door, as if she expected someone.

"We know what happened to Harry", said Remus reassuringly, when neither one of Melanie, Dave, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Oliver or the twins calmed down. "But we're expecting Order members at any minute ..."

"But you are going to do something, aren't you?" Sirius looked up, and fixed his gaze on Remus, he had a worried and tense facial expression. Mrs Weasley let out a brief sniffle and started to clean the already shiny kitchen table. Remus cast her a compassionate look and turned to Melanie and the others:

"Right, we'll discuss the situation and ..."

"_Discuss?_" Melanie testily pressed on.

"But –" Hermione began, but Remus cut them both off.

"No buts. This concern only the Order – end of story", he added firmly and started to shove all of them out of the room. As much as Melanie loved Remus, she couldn't understand the level of rubbish he was talking. This concerned them all since Harry was their friend and the fact that the Order was going to _discuss the situation_ and waste precious time was outrageous.

"Discuss?" Melanie hissed hotly when the kitchen door was shut behind them. "_Discuss? _Are they joking? A meeting now? What about Harry?"

"Hey, get a hold of yourself, woman!" said George. "We'll hear everything they say, silly!"

"With these, of course", said Fred and pulled out a couple of flesh coloured strings from his pocket. "Good ol' Extendable Ears!"

"They're complete now?" asked Oliver interestedly and they all climbed the stairs. Everyone except Melanie. She tiptoed through the hall, pulled out her wand and unlocked the front door.


	5. For the fifth time

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Please read author's note at the bottom! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 – For the fifth time<strong>

Melanie hoped dearly that no Order member would arrive at this very moment and see her leaving; they would tell her it was a really bad idea – they always did – and make her go back. No way she would just sit and wait for their magnificent discussion to be over, when Harry needed help.

She hurried away from Grimmauld Place. It was a still and yet another hot evening. When Melanie had left the open space with the rampant grassplot in the middle, she slowed down and walked rather aimlessly – occupied with thoughts. Her first impulse had been to jump onto Buckbeak and fly to Harry. Buckbeak was strong enough to carry both Melanie herself, Harry and his luggage, but it was far too risky with all the muggles wandering around. She remembered very clearly Harry and Ron's flying car incident three years ago.

Melanie was rather unsure about what to do next. She pulled her sweater tightly around her and had a survyeing eye looking around her all the time. The neighbourhood was as dark and dusky as Grimmauld Place itself, but she didn't meet a living soul. Though, she still walked in the shadows; instinctively she didn't want to be seen.

After at least twenty minutes Melanie stopped in an obscure corner to consider her possibilities. Number one was the Knight Bus but she was not very fond of the conductor Stan Shunpike, he also knew who she was. Alternative number two was King's Cross, she was sure she would find the way – she'd walked from there with Remus. On the other hand, she thought grimly, Harry always came to King's Cross with his aunt and uncle, and they travelled in their metal carriage, which Harry had said muggles used when they travelled a bit too far for walking. Melanie cursed under her breathe.

Darkness had started to fall and the street lamps seemed broken, but it was still quiet and peaceful. Melanie checked her watch, it was almost forty minutes since she left number twelve Grimmauld Place. Well, if she started to walk now, she maybe would be at Harry's before dawn. A soft breeze swept by and played slightly with Melanie's hair, otherwise the street was still. Too still, a voice in the back of her head whispered.

Suddenly Melanie was uncomfortably aware of the fact that someone was running at full speed right at her, she turned sharply but in the pitch black darkness she couldn't see anyone. Instead she clasped her wand inside her sweater tightly and tried to move out of the way. Without warning Melanie was hit and almost fell over.

"Hey!" she called but a dull growling shut her up. She was pulled into a side street and the next moment the large dog transformed and her father stood in front of her. Sirius grasped her shoulders firmly.

"_What were you thinking?_" he hissed viciously. Melanie, who had never seen him this angry since that night in the Shrieking Shack, quickly realised the severity in this moment. Sirius face was screwed up with anger and his eyes were dark as he looked into Melanie's powder blue eyes. "What were you thinking?" he said again. "You thought you could just walk over to Little Whinging? _That's half-way across London!_"

"But –"

"No", Sirius said firmly. "I told you not to wander around alone …! This is even more dangerous than in that bloody house!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Have you Apperated before? No? Just stand still and concentrate on the doorstep and I'll take care of the rest."

Sirius grasped her arm again. Without warning Melanie was so fiercely hurtled forward that she almost fell on her face. She had no idea what what going on, so she just tried to picture the doorstep like Sirius had said. The darkness seemed to thicken and pressing every inch of her body, making it hard to inhale. The best way to describe the peculiar feeling was that it was like traveling inside a water hose. Just when Melanie thought she would suffocate, the pressure was lifted and she stumbled forward on the solid ground of the doorstep to number twelve.

Sirius reached his wand arm out to open the door, but hesitated and turned to Melanie. He had calmed down, but his gaze was still very earnest: "Things could have gone much worse than they actually did tonight, but you really caused the Order a lot of trouble ..." He sighed and opened the door. "Just go straight upstairs … and no more walking around alone", he said in a low voice and shoved Melanie towards the stairs.

Melanie was angry when she climbed the stairs. She was so angry and frustrated with the whole situation that her hands were shaking. To her disappointment the bedroom was empty. Hermione and Ginny were probably with the others, she thought grimly. Her dad probably told them not to go and see her. She kicked hard on the bed in frustration, but instead of the satisfaction from causing some damage on a perfectly innocent object Melanie let out a roar of pain. She'd hit the metal frame of the bed.

The frustration and feelings of deep disappointment took overhand and she threw herself into the bed, and soon she fell asleep.

The following morning Mrs Weasley had prepared breakfast. Food made Melanie lighten up a bit, since her bad mood still got the best of her after a night of bad sleep. Dave, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Oliver, Fred and George were also a bit disheveled. On the other hand though, Mrs Weasley was enthusiastic when she told them about the plans for the day.

"We're going to make this house inhabitable once and for all – we'll start upstairs, Remus will help you, and I'll come up with some lunch later. Off you go then", Mrs Weasley declared. Sirius cleared his throat impatiently and Mrs Weasley raised her eyebrows towards him. "Oh, by the way, Melanie dear, would you help me clean off the table?"

"Sure", said Melanie rather dully, frowning slightly at the exchanging of looks between her father and Mrs Weasley, as the others strolled off. It appeared to be a substantial mistake from Melanie, because she never made it out of the kitchen. Sirius made up ridiculous tasks for Melanie to do, if it wasn't scrubbing casseroles, it was sorting the cutlery. Melanie had a feeling that Sirius wanted to keep her under strict supervision, as a penalty for the evening before, and Mrs Weasley was in on it. She didn't get out until late afternoon, when Sirius asked her to go upstairs and feed Buckbeak.

"We're having a meeting later, so you don't need to come back downstairs", Sirius said while handing over the now familiar blood stained sack of dead rats.

"Okay, sure", said Melanie in an indifferent tone, but she grabbed the sack and climbed the stairs all the way up to Buckbeak's room. The hippogriff turned out to be very hungry and swallowed every single rat Melanie threw at him. While feeding the hippogriff Melanie poured her heart out for Buckbeak, like she'd done so many times before. She was sick and tired of everything that had anything to do with the Order, especially their meetings and she was too upset to be still, so she paced back and forth, telling him about the last days' events. The hippogriff was a bit more interested in his food, but Melanie still believed he listened.

When she finally was finished with her list of how much the Order of the Phoenix had done wrong and Buckbeak had searched her clothes for hidden treats, Melanie took a deep breath and sat down.

"Unlucky there, Buckbeak, but I'm not that kind of person who carries around dead rats in my pockets!" Buckbeak tilted his head slightly and clappered his beak.

There were footsteps in the stairwell, hastened footsteps, as if someone was walking fast at the urge of running. I wonder who that is, Melanie thought, and with a tingling of curiosity in her stomach she opened the door an inch and peeked outside.

"Mel?"

"Dave?" Melanie said in a surprised tone, but eying him rather suspiciously . It was something about his a bit too excited smile that caught her attention. "Is there something going on?"

"Duh!" he replied. "Harry's here!"

"WHAT?" Melanie jumped to her feet so fast that Buckbeak shrieked in surprise. "Are you joking!" Melanie neither cared about the hippogriff, nor did she wait for an answer – she sprinted down the stairs, just to skid in through the open door to Dave and Ron's room and threw herself around Harry's neck.

Standing in the middle of the room, facing away from the door, Harry was unknowing about Melanie's arrival and staggered slightly from the impact. He recovered himself quickly and loosened up when Melanie gave him a tight hug, which he returned hastily.

"Now when you're finally here Mels, would you do us the honour of telling us about last night?" Melanie released Harry and turned towards Fred, who was leaning against the wall beside his brother.

"Tell us about your brilliant idea, which included a nice and comfy stroll across London in the middle of the night!" said George lightly. They were all there, assembled together in the tiny bedroom, but not everyone seemed to be in such a jolly mood as the twins. In fact, Melanie suspected that Hermione had been crying and Ron looked very jumpy.

"Someone had to do something", Melanie said firmly. "Since the Order clearly wasn't. But it worked, didn't it?"

Oliver, who was sitting on Dave's bed shook his head in disbelief at Melanie. "Mel, don't be silly!"

"What?" Melanie said fiercely. "Harry's here now, isn't he?"

"But it's not because of you he's here", Oliver said in a matter of fact way.

"But –" Melanie began hotly but Ginny interrupted her, from her corner at the far end of the room: "It was chaos when they realised you were gone."

"Chaos?" Melanie repeated in disbelief, looking around the room with her eyebrows raised. Why would any of her actions disturb the Order's important meeting?

"Haven't you noticed that Sirius' been worrying about you?" said Hermione in a low voice, but loud enough for Melanie to hear her clearly. "All your adventures in the house – Tonks told me and Ginny about that thing she saved you from, that tried to poke your eyes out."

"And not to mention the carnivorous litter bin", said Fred with a wink.

"Anyway", Hermione continued after a long look towards the twins who mimicked being eating by the litter bin. "I'm sure Sirius was even more anxious with Harry's arrival coming closer ..."

"He made us look _everywhere_!" said Ginny looking intensely at Melanie. "And when we were all gathered in the kitchen, and nobody'd found you ..."

"Poor bloke", said Ron and he looked very earnest. "Should've seen him, Mels, he was mental! Wanted to just rush straight out the door ... But Lupin calmed him down. 'Think rationally' he said."

"Then Lupin called in Tonks and Kingsley for a crisis meeting", Ginny said. "And they didn't even bother to shut us out!"

"They didn't?" asked Melanie, once again with raised eyebrows.

"They didn't", Oliver confirmed with a grin.

"So what happened? Did they reveal anything?"

Oliver laughed. "They talked about you all the time, so if they did, it would be some of your secrets, not the Order's!"

"Oh shut it!" said Melanie impatiently. "What happened then?"

"Well", said Dave, who along with Harry had been quiet since Melanie came into the room. "They contacted your mum."

"What?"

"Yep", he said. "They checked if the Floo network had been used." Though Melanie understood the value of having an insider in the Department of Magical Transportation, she thought it was highly unnecessary to drag Allison into this.

"They had to, I guess", said Dave, observing Melanie's facial expression. "But Sirius thought that it was a waste of time."

"Again, Lupin calmed him down", said George, grinning widely.

"Again, he used the argument for thinking rationally", said Fred.

"But he missed one very important detail. Tell her what you said, Freddie."

"'Since when does Melanie think rationally?'" Fred reiterated proudly.

"And Sirius disappeared straight out the door."

Melanie stared at them all. "So that's why I've been locked up in the kitchen all day, separating the three toothed forks from the four toothed one's? Couldn't dad just tell me?"

"Don't know what you're complaining about", said Harry sternly.

"Hey!" hissed Dave, lurking at the door. "We've got a visitor!" As soon as he'd said that they could hear footsteps from the stairs and Mrs Weasley appeared in the doorway.

"Dinner!"

* * *

><p>The time flew by – the summer vacation was soon over. Mrs Weasley's working obsession made them decontaminate almost the whole house. With Mrs Weasley's tough working schedule the sanitation went faster and was indeed more efficient than when Melanie, Sirius and Remus had tried during her first week at Grimmauld Place. After only three days they managed to get the living room pretty decent, and continued with the rest of the house. Harry attended his hearing at the Ministry (Melanie almost freaked out when she found out about the hearing, because nobody had told her anything until Harry already was back). Both Harry and Melanie turned fifteen and to nobody's surprise, Dave and Hermione became Gryffindor's new prefects.<p>

The semester start crept closer and the only one who didn't seem to long for September the first was Sirius. Instead, he seemed more and more gloomy the longer the vacation went on. The last day of August, a couple of days after Melanie's birthday, Hermione pointed out to Melanie that Sirius spent more and more of his time alone on the top floor. Melanie had also noticed how he sneaked away from dinner time, and how he had become increasingly quiet and bitter the last couple of weeks.

The same night Melanie tried to get a couple of minutes alone with Sirius, and talk things out with him. She knew that he was heart-sick by the fact that he, once again, was going to be alone in his childhood home, and she wanted to insure him that he wasn't alone. But Melanie didn't succeed, since people was everywhere, running around looking for their possessions and stressed out by the trip to Hogwarts early next morning. When Mrs Weasley got sight of Melanie's half packed trunk and put her to work under strict supervision, a conversation between four eyes had merely a snowball's chance in hell.

Early September the first (after being brutally awakened by Oliver, Fred and George and a spell called _Aguamenti_), Melanie tried once again, rather desperately, to talk to Sirius. She was forced to catch him in the hallway with a tight hug and a brief, but encouraging whisper in his ear before he, turned into Snuffles and disappeared. Sirius, Mrs Weasley and Tonks was supposed to take Harry to King's Cross in advance.

Soon the train whistle whistled and they had to hurry on the dark red train. It was Melanie's fifth time to ride with the Hogwarts Express, but it was the first time her joy of finally coming back to Hogwarts was mixed with an enormous absence. It had always been her mother who dropped her off, and Melanie always got the impression that Allison was happy to get rid of her. Now Melanie would miss not only Sirius, but of course Remus, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Marcus, Kingsley, Moody, Buckbeak, Mundungus – what the heck, even Kreacher and the inhospitable house of Grimmauld Place number twelve.

"Shall we find us a compartment then?" Ron asked merrily. Melanie could see that Oliver, Fred and George already had vanished.

"Sure", she answered.

"But … me and Hermione are supposed to sit in the prefect carriage ..." said Dave hesitantly. Hermione nodded. Melanie stretched out her tongue towards them.

"So you're just leaving us – all alone?" she asked. "Maybe I can't be away from my walking brain and my walking library!" Ron chuckled. Dave and Hermione made ugly faces to her.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine", said Ron.

"You go ahead", said Harry encouragingly.

"We'll come and find you soon", said Dave before he and Hermione headed forward in the train. Ginny had met some of her classmates and disappeared faster than lightning, Melanie noticed a couple of Ravenclaws among Ginny's friends. Melanie, Harry and Ron were on the other hand now left alone and they began making way with their heavy trunks through the narrow hallway. They ended up sharing a compartment with their fellow Gryffindor friend, Neville Longbottom in the very back of the train.

Dave's interpretation of 'soon' proved to be very different from Melanie's. After two hours or so, she decided to find out why the hold up.

"I'll come with you!" said Ron and sprung to his feet when she told him.

"O.K.", said Melanie approvingly, but hesitated as soon as they left the compartment. "Er … do you know where the prefects sit?" Ron looked at her blankly.

"Well", he finally said, frowning as he was thinking. "Not exactly, but I know it's in the front. Fred and George covered Percy in stink sap there once."

"Really?" said Melanie in an impressed tone. "They need to tell me about that one, for sure."

Ron was right about the prefect carriage being in the front, because when they reached the first carriage, Dave and Hermione stepped out in the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione.

"Looking for you, of course", Ron said in a merry tone, as if it was obvious. Hermione smiled briefly and began a report on their first day as prefects. Half way back through the train the bumped into everyone's favourite Slytherin Draco Malfoy and his two accomplices Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

"Watch your big feet –!" Malfoy began fiercely but fell silent when he looked at them.

"Out of the way, _Malfoy_", said Ron in a threatening tone, emphasizing the name.

"You were aloud back to Hogwarts, _Weasley_? I thought they didn't let blood traitors or mudbloods back, nowadays ..." Melanie and Ron did the same movement of throwing themselves at Malfoy.

"_Ron!_" Melanie heard Hermione yell, and she felt Dave grabbing her arms, holding her back.

"Lucky there, Weasley", Malfoy continued scornfully, sweeping past Melanie with his eyes, and padding his chest, where a silver badge with a large P was pinned onto. "I am actually a prefect now and have the right to discipline other students. It would be a pleasure if I'd give you my first." With an unpleasant smirk he turned around and disappeared into a compartment with Crabbe and Goyle lumbering after.

"He's a prefect?" Melanie asked weakly. Who could be so stupid to name him?

"Yes", said Dave and sighed. "Unfortunately."

"He and Pansy Parkinson", said Hermione snidely and put a nasty emphasis on Parkinson's name. "And Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil. I don't understand how they –" Hermione was interrupted by a compartment door in front of them opening with great force, and they could hear loud and angry voices. A Slytherin girl with long, shining black hair almost bumped into Dave and Ron. It was Melanie's one year older cousin, Julie Harper, whom Melanie barely had spoken to, even outside Hogwarts.

Furious raged in Julie's black eyes. Though Melanie didn't know her, she was curious about who Julie'd been arguing with, so when they passed her, Melanie tried to cast a look into the compartment which Julie'd emerged from. It was Pansy Parkinson – she stood in the middle of the compartment, looking equally upset as Julie. But when Melanie turned forward again, a sudden movement behind Julie made her act instinctively, pulling Julie out of the doorway. Pansy's hex flew across the corridor, hit the glass and caused an ugly burn mark.

"What the …!"

"Next time you're not as lucky", hissed Pansy.

"You should watch your own back", said Julie in a dark voice and with a last hateful look at Parkinson she turned and walked down the corridor. "Why'd you do that?" she murmured to Melanie, as they were heading in the same direction. The fact that their parents had broken all contact when the two of them were babies was probably the main reason why Melanie and Julie never had taken time to get to know each other. But Melanie also took into consideration that Julie was a Slytherin and the fact that she sometimes companied Malfoy.

Melanie looked at her: "Pansy's an ass", she answered simply.

"Tell me about it", Julie replied sarcastically and looked thoughtful.

"Hey, I know we haven't talked but ..."

"Yeah ..." said Julie. "I know it's weird, really. But … for a Gryffindor, though, you seem pretty O.K."

"Right back at you", grinned Melanie.

"See you – I guess", said Julie when she found her compartment and friends, Melanie could see her two year younger, and also black haired, brother Isaac Harper among the Slytherins.

"Yeah", she said and when she continued down the corridor to her own compartment, where Dave, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville waited for her, for once she was preoccupied with thoughts. The ride with the Hogwarts Express usually wasn't this dramatic, she thought. Even though, she liked the fact that Julie and herself had for a couple of minutes united against Parkinson, who Melanie disliked almost as mush as she disliked Malfoy.

"Melanie", Harry said as she slid the door open. He looked worried and told her in a low, but tense voice, that Malfoy apparently had strutted into the compartment to show off his new badge for Harry and indicated in an ominous way that he'd recognized Sirius on the platform.

Correction; Melanie didn't dislike Malfoy – she loathed him.

The rest of the trip Melanie, Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione were all muted. Melanie got an unpleasant feeling in the bottom of her stomach, like a weight, straining her insides. The feeling didn't ease when they stepped off the red train and didn't find Hagrid there to welcome the new students, and certainly not when Harry saw creepy horse creatures which neither Melanie or Ron could see.

This far, September first had certainly been different from previous years. But none of the events so far could measure up with the surprise in the Great Hall.

The dinner was eaten and everyone were now longing for their respective four-poster bed and fall asleep. Dumbledore informed the student this year's start-of-term notices, Melanie only listened with half an ear, she'd already heard that the Forbidden Forest really was forbidden grounds, a couple of Filch's hundreds prohibitions and staff changes since her first year.

"Hem, hem."

Melanie jumped and looked up. She was not the only one wondering who'd interrupted Dumbledore. "It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry whispered surprised. She apparently was sadly unaware of the regimes of Hogwarts. Melanie grinned at her ignorance.

"Nice cardy", said Ron and grinned too. Melanie instantly knew she would dislike this Umbridge woman as soon as she laid eyes on her floppy face – nothing good could possibly come from someone wearing that pink, fluffy cardigan with matching hair band. She spoke with a fake, high pitched voice and was extremely boring, but it were the cold, hard eyes which made Melanie's unpleasant gut feeling sink even lower down her stomach.

Dave and Hermione seemed to be the only ones listening, and they immediately began discussing what they'd just heard as soon as the Umbridge woman fell silent. Spread, half-hearted clapping could be heard across the Hall.

"Were there things hidden in the nonsense?" asked Harry surprised.

"Did you listen?" Melanie wondered even more surprised but Hermione brushed her aside:

"The Ministry is going to interfere with what's going on at Hogwarts!"

"Through the Umbridge woman?" asked Melanie bewildered. Was that Fudge's ace in the hole, his spy? Hermione's reply was drowned in the noise that suddenly occurred – people started leaving the Great Hall.

"First-years!" Dave and Hermione began shouting.

"Where are you going?" Melanie asked them.

"We're steering the first-years to the dormitories", said Dave and smiled slightly as justification. "See you later?" He disappeared in the crowd.

"Midgets ..." Ron mumbled.

"What?" Melanie laughed. It actually sounded a bit more accurate than first-years.

"Yep", Ron continued. "They're so small!"

"And cute!" Melanie patted the closest one on the head, just to get a grip on how small they actually were. The little boy, who barely reached Melanie's chest, stiffened and stared petrified at Melanie. Then his widened eyes fell on Harry and he turned at the spot and sprinted after his peers.

"Gryffindors are supposed to be brave", Ron snorted.

"Yeah", said Melanie, frowning irritatedly as she turned, a long line of tiny Hufflepuffs walked by, staring at Harry.

"Let's go", Harry said grumpily, and he stamped furiously out of the Hall. Melanie and Ron had to hurry to keep up with him.

In the circular round Gryffindor common room they met familiar Gryffindors on their way towards the dormitories, sitting in the comfortable armchairs or simply catching up on summer events in front of the constantly crackling fire. Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet from the Quidditch team waved happily from across the room and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan from Melanie's own grade came over and greeted them. Dean had his arms extended towards Melanie and a broad smile on his face.

"Hi Dean!" He gave her a hastened hug, but instead of releasing her, Dean grabbed Melanie by the back of her neck and ruffled her hair.

"Got ya!" he shouted and the boys laughed. "That hairdo really fits you", Dean grinned.

"I'll get you back, you know", said Melanie, smiling slyly. She said good night to Dave, Ron, Dean and Seamus, yawned and climbed the well known spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory. It was empty, but Melanie didn't mind. She was feeling very good. She was full, tired and back at Hogwarts.

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown stepped into the dormitory as Melanie was about to close her bed curtains.

"Hello", Melanie said. "Had a good summer?" she asked with another yawn and thought merrily back on her own.

"Oh yes", Parvati replied with a smile. Lavender brushed Melanie's question away.

"Do you really believe what Harry said about You-Know-Who?" Lavender was bursting with the urge of asking her. Parvati gave Lavender an elbow in her side. Melanie just sat on her bed for a moment, taken aback from the completely unexpected question.

"Er ..." Melanie finally said slowly. "Of course I do." Her voice grew in strength.

"But ... it's kind of absurd, I mean ... what if it isn't true? You know, we didn't see what happened."

"No, but Harry did!" Melanie fired up quickly, but Lavender pressed on:

"But the Ministry says there's nothing to worry about ... and really, there are no proof –"

Melanie interrupted her abruptly, enough was enough. "No? What's Harry then? Aren't you listening? You don't know what happened, and you shouldn't speak about it, but Harry – he knows! So leave him alone! Has he even done anything to you, except _warning_ you for Voldemort? _No, I __didn't think so!_ Now I'm going to sleep!"

The last thing Melanie could see before she ostentatiously pulled her curtains close, was Lavender, opening her mouth to speak, but Parvati's elbow in her side shut Lavender's mouth effectively.

The next morning Lavender disappeared very quickly out of the dormitory.

"What's with her?" Melanie muttered as she got dressed.

"She began babbling about Harry as soon I came in – she believes_ The Prophet_ you know – so I told her one thing or two about what she should do ..." Hermione was already fully dressed and sat on her bed, waiting for Melanie.

"You too? I flew out at her before you came", Melanie grinned.

"Mmhmm", Hermione murmured thoughtfully. "Are you coming?"

They met up with Dave, Harry and Ron in the common room.

"Monday morning, Melanie. Alive and kicking I see", Dave teased. Melanie gave him a half-hearted box on the arm and yawned again. Melanie and mornings just wasn't a good combination. Hermione stopped by the notice board and began talking prefect talk with him, which Melanie quickly turned a deaf ear to. Instead she noticed, with yet another yawn, how exasperated Harry looked.

"What's with you, Harry?" she asked as they all had safely gotten out of the portrait hole.

"Yeah, you look like you're angry about something?" Hermione put in. Dave and Ron exchanged looks.

"Seamus thinks that Harry lies about You-Know-Who", Ron explained quickly.

"What?" Melanie blurted out. "He too?" She really hadn't expected that.

"Well, Lavender is in line with him", Hermione told the others.

"They should form a club", Ron grunted.

"But you're cool Harry, we got your back – Hermione and I gave her a real lecture!" Harry, who had opened his mouth to say something, closed it and looked a little bit happier.

* * *

><p>"You've got to be kidding me!" Melanie shouted, one and a half hour after they had left the Great Hall.<p>

"No!" Ron uttered gloomily.

"What a Monday", sighed Melanie and hit herself in the head with her Potions book. She really needed to wake up from a drowsy History of Magic lecture with Binns. They were now heading down to the dungeons for a double Potions, followed by Divination and after that double Defence Against the Dark Arts. Divination was a running gag, at least that's how Dave put it, and with this Umbridge woman at the wheel the DADA would probably become a long lecture in true History of Magic spirit.

"Silence." Snape stepped soundlessly into the classroom – or more precisely, the dungeon – and with his usual flapping of his robes, he took his place at the teacher's desk. The mere look of him made Melanie's skin creep. She offered Dave an exchange of desperate looks, knowing how much he loathed Potions, as Snape spoke, with an ominous voice: "Before we begin this class, I will remind you of the examination you will be sitting this June and since I'm only taking on the very best in my NEWT classes, some of us will be saying good bye. But we have yet another year in front of us before this happy farewell moment, so I advice you to concentrate, whether or not you are going to try for NEWT ... or not." Melanie looked down as Snape's sharp look sweeped around the class. He continued: "Today we will be mixing ..."

Melanie could be skilled in Potions, but only if she managed to keep her focus. The real problem was standing right in front of her – Snape hated Melanie almost equally as much as he hated Harry, and he insulted her just because he knew that it made her lose focus. On the other side Potions was a important subject for an intended auror. She'd made up her mind. This year she really would strain herself to get a good grade in Potions.

"Yes", she said before she could restrain herself.

"Pardon me?" Snape said coldly. "Black, was there something you wanted to say?"

"No", she answered.

"That's right", said Snape, smirking unpleasantly. "As previously mentioned, before Black here opened her mouth ... you have one and a half hour ... beginning now."

Melanie's new decision on making an effort encountered a great deal of work right away. The Draught of Peace, which they were supposed to mix, was the most complex one they'd ever encountered. When Snape announced that silver smoke should be rising from their potion Melanie was exhausted. Her stomach was aching with hunger and she was at the line of sweating. At the top of it all, Snape rounded up on Harry.

"Potter, what's this?"

"The Draught of Peace", said Harry, through clenched jaws. Melanie peeked into his cauldron. The smoke wasn't exactly silver coloured, but a lot better than Crabbe's or Goyle's.

"Potter, can you read?" Snape went on. Melanie felt her temper rise, like her inside suddenly began boiling. Why did he always pick on Harry? At the corner of her eye, Melanie saw Malfoy laughing behind Snape's back. Furious she swung around.

"Malfoy shut your giant pie hole", she said viciously and Ron, Dean and Seamus snickered. "Yours is nowhere near as good as –!"

"Black!" Snape interrupted. Melanie gave a jump. For a second there she'd almost forgotten why she'd become so angry. "I suppose there's nothing you want to say this time either?"

"Yes. I don't think you should complain that much about Harry's potion", she said in a defiant tone, ignoring the warning looks from both Dave and Hermione. "It's actually better than ... er ... some others ..." It became so silent in the dungeon that you without a doubt would hear a pin drop. Melanie half expected smoke from Snape's nostrils by the look on his face and was very happy that looks couldn't kill.

"Tell me, Black", he hissed. "Who, out of the two of us, is an educated teacher in Potions?"

"You, sir", Melanie answered reluctantly.

"That's right. So it's not your business deciding whose potion is the best. That's my business, and I also have the indulgence of giving you detention tonight at six o'clock. You better be on time." With one last loath dripping gaze on Melanie, he turned to the rest of the class: "Fill a bottle with your potion, put your name on it and bring it to my desk. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone, in my hand on Thursday."

Goyle's bottle exploded. Glass shatter spread over the whole dungeon and the Gryffindor students burst out in laughter.

"Look Harry, that would never happen to your potion", she said triumphing and picked a piece of glass from her hair.

The unpleasant feeling in the bottom of Melanie's stomach from the day before hadn't bothered her all day. In a weird way it had been comforting that at least Snape was his usual, yet idiotic, self, and that Divination still was as useless as Professor Trelawney's death predictions for Harry. Although Melanie and Dave found it hilarious to interpret made-up dreams. But as Melanie, Dave, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the DADA classroom, the weight in Melanie's stomach acknowledged itself again. The unpleasant feeling came back with such a force that Melanie almost panicked. The realisation came to her in a heartbeat; just like Hermione had said – things were about to change at Hogwarts. And Melanie didn't like it at all.

The Umbridge woman was already in her position behind her teacher's desk, sweeping her cold eyes around the room. She opened her mouth broad mouth and spoke with that high-pitched voice which made Melanie want to run up to her and shove a pair of Dobby's home knitted socks in her throat: "Good afternoon, children. Wands away, please."

"Are you alright?" Dave leaned in an whispered, with his brow raised at Melanie.

"I don't like this, not at all", she murmured through clenched teeth. "That woman is evil."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'm back! Hope you guys have had a nice holiday! Over the holiday's I've had some time to catch up with my writing. I'm trying not to bit off more than I can chew, but I'll try not to keep you guys waiting this long for the next chapter. I mean, chapter 4 and 5 needed some huge adjustments comparing to my original story, so the time consumer (except from school and ... yeah, life) have been modifying the old chapters into what you can read here. The story is now pure story, I edited out the unnecessary side tracks. Though, there may not have been too much drama (certainly not comparing to the upcoming chapters), but the story's just building up, so be patient. Otherwise, this was a really long chapter, I know I called the last one long too, but this is REALLY long. Hope you like it though. Is it too long? Please, please give me some of your thoughts? I'll give you a cookie if you review! Cheers!


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